What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

The 4k LED UHD Samsung KU7000 Series has a good enough picture quality for most content but lacks in a few areas. It handles fast motion decently and it feels responsive when playing video games. Unfortunately, HDR performance is average, judder is present in movies and the picture deteriorates when viewed from the side.

Design

The Samsung KU7000 is a great looking TV. Its frame looks like it is made of metal, the classic looking Samsung stand now shares a new style with a shiny reflective finish and the textured back of the TV adds a nice touch. The TV is also quite thin. Compared to the KU6300, it looks better.

Stand

The KU7000 shares the same kind of stand as many other Samsung TVs but with a slightly different new cut and finish.

Footprint of the 55" TV stand: 37" x 13.1"

Back

Wall Mount
:
Vesa 400x400

The back has a textured finish very similar to the higher end Samsung 9 series. If wall mounted, no connections will be blocked.

Borders

Borders
:
0.51" (1.3 cm)

Borders have a brushed metal finish.

Thickness

Max Thickness
:
2.17" (5.5 cm)

The TV appears quite thin from a 90 degree angle. The bottom part is thicker than the top part.

Watching movies on the KU7000 is average. The dark scene performance is quite good, but limited by lack of features. Judder is experienced when watching movies and motion interpolation options are limited. The TV can play HDR content, and does provide richer colors but the highlights can't get very bright. The colors are quite good out of the box, and the TV looks clear when displaying content from DVDs to 4k video.

Good value:
Full-array/direct lighting is better for local dimming. As for the uniformity of the screen, it depends on the implementation. Some edge-lit TVs have more uniform blacks than some full-array TVs.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more regular movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over SDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

The SDR peak brightness is bad for the Samsung KU7000. At around 300 cd/m² overall, with the 2% and 10% being dimmer than the rest, the SDR peak brightness is lower than what would be considered a good value. The KU7000 would be best situated in a dark room because of the low SDR peak brightness.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more realistic movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over HDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

The KU7000 is bright enough for normal SDR content but well below the HDR standard of 1000 nits for highlights. There is no local dimming. With an HDR signal, the 2% window dims, but on a standard signal, the brightness remains constant across all window sizes. The peak brightness is lower than the KU6300.Update: Updated with sustained brightness.

There is some banding visible, with the horizontal edges appearing brighter and the vertical edges appearing darker. Overall the uniformity is better than most other LED TVs, with no major gray uniformity or dirty screen effect issues.

The viewing angle is quite good for a VA TV, and should not be an issue for most people. Color saturation is lost when viewed at an angle however the picture remains more defined than most other VA TVs.

The black uniformity is really good. Due to the way the TV is edge lit, there is a small 1/4" bright strip extending part way across the top and bottom edge. This should not be an issue for most content.

Update 11/09/2016: Our original test was showing 8 bit gradations due to incorrect drivers on our system. After some correction to our test apparatus, we have retested the color depth and found that it is able to display a 10 bit gradient smoothly. There is some little imperfections in the darker green, but nothing that could make normal viewing problematic.

Motion

Watching sports on the Samsung KU7000 is pretty decent. Fast moving objects such as a football being thrown from a player will be followed by a faint trail and some screen uniformity issues may be visible during panning shots over a game field, but this should not be an issue for most people.

The response time of this TV is similar to that of the Samsung KU6300 because they have a similar panel. A faint trail is visible behind the logo meaning that fast moving object will appear to have a following trail behind them just like this one. The backlight flickers at twice the frequency of the KU6300.

The 'Auto Motion Plus' setting can be customized to introduce black frame insertion. This helps to clear up motion blur due to eye tracking. Unfortunately this option isn't available in the 'Game' special viewing mode.

Enabling 'Action Motion Plus' to 'Auto' will allow you to smooth out content that outputs 30fps, this isn't the case for 60fps content. Even though Samsung advertises that this TV has a '120Hz Motion rate' it is a 60Hz TV.

Inputs

Video game performance is good due to the low input lag and decent motion blur. This provides a smooth experience even in fast paced games. There is a large range of supported resolutions for those looking to use the KU7000 as a PC monitor.

Sound Quality

Sound is average on the Samsung KU7000 which isn't too bad for a TV. Most sound bars would be an upgrade but those that don't want the additional clutter should still be somewhat satisfied by the sound of the KU7000.

Note: Sound Quality test for TVs reviewed before 2017 was performed at 75dB, 85dB, and Max SPL. Starting 2017, the target SPL levels have been changed to 70dB, 80dB, and Max dB SPL.

Smart Features

The Samsung KU7000 offers an impressive smart interface performance that is both smooth and responsive. The TV comes with a fairly fast CPU and memory which allows applications to load quickly even when heavily multi-tasking, showing no hiccups at all. Also, the operating system supports a great deal of different applications such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Youtube, and many more, making it a very polished smart interface. As for the inputs, the Samsung TV offers many inputs of different variations making it capable of plugging all your devices in it. Be careful though, if you want to use the full capability of the TV make sure you use the HDMI 1 port as it's the only port that supports HDMI 2.0.

When a new device is detected (such as when a computer is woken from sleep while plugged into an HDMI port) the TV automatically switches to this device. This may be an annoyance if you are watching other content at the time.

Apps

The most popular applications such as Netflix, Amazon Video and YouTube are available on this TV. You also have plenty of applications that can be downloaded from the store.

Looking at the TV from straight on, the TV controls are located at the bottom right of the TV. This small button offers many basic operations such as changing the volume, inputs, and turning the TV on or off. This button is still accessible even if the TV is wall mounted.

Remote

Remote
:
Smart

The remote is identical to the Samsung KS Series remote. It's comfortable and is very easy to use to navigate through menus. It also has the voice command functionality that the KS Series remote has, which is a nice addition. This remote, compared to the Samsung KU6300, is somewhat better and has the voice command functionality.

In The Box

Remote

Batteries

Manuals

Component In adapter

Composite In adapter

Wall mount spacers

Cable management accessory

Misc

Power Consumption
:
54 W

Power Consumption (Max)
:
135 W

Firmware
:
1104

Differences between Sizes and Variants

We tested the 55" (UN55KU7000) version FA01. For the most part, we expect our review to be valid for the other sizes.

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Samsung KU7000 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review.

Update 01/16/2017: The 43" has a AA01 panel, so our review might not correspond exactly to that size.

The Samsung KS8000 is a superior TV especially for watching movies and with HDR content. It fits the living room better too since it can get a lot brighter. The KS8000 is pricier but is the TV to get for anyone looking at an upgrade over the KU7000.

The Samsung KU6300 offers nearly identical picture quality for SDR content, although it is not as thin. The Samsung KU7000 does provide slightly better HDR performance due to the wide color gamut, but for most people the Samsung KU6300 presents better value.

The Sony X850D has a better picture quality when viewed from the side but not as good when watched directly from front or in a dark room. Get the X850D if most of the viewing is done in a well lit room.

Conclusion

The Samsung KU7000 is a decent TV with a few flaws. It is good for playing video games and sports fans won't complain but movie lovers might be bothered by the small amount of judder and the limited HDR performance. When viewed from the side, the picture of the KU7000 also deteriorates. In the end, the Samsung KU7000 is not easy to recommend since the KU6300 is cheaper and has the same picture quality. If you were looking for an improvement, go with the KS8000 instead.

What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

Can't believe KU7000 is lesser then the KU6300. Are you guys 100% positive about the KU7000 quality considering natural mode looks way better then movie mode and your calibrations. Also what would the score be excluding the 0 from 3d, local dimming. Considering I don't care for those as well as living room and sound as well.

Both TV are very close and when compare the KU6300 and the KU7000. The KU7000 design is a bit more refined than the KU6300, but the picture quality is almost identical to the cheaper KU6300, so unless the 'look and design' of the TV is important to you, you could go with the KU7000. If you don't care too much about the design and want to have more for your money, the KU6300 is a better choice for you.

In about a month from now, some change will be implemented on the web site that will allow you to exclude some elements from the final scores. As for now we cannot do it.

Update 08/18/2016: We have re-tested the color gamut of the KU7000, and found that it does support a wide color gamut. As such, HDR content on the KU7000 will look a bit better with more saturated colors.

Hi, thank you so much for all the work you do. You mentioned that the HDR of this TV is limited, however, it has HDR10 capabilities. Can you explain what is holding this TVs HDR capability back. Thank you in advance.

There is 2 factors that play a big role in making a good HDR experience. One is the wide color gamut and the second is the peak brightness of small highlight.

The Wide color gamut is the range of color that the TV can display. If you play an HDR movie, you want a TV that will reproduce the same color that were encoded when the movie was mastered. If your TV does not display the same range of color, you will not see the color as they were intended to be display.

Same thing with bright highlight, let say you have a scene with a bright sun, and the sun is supposed to be shining at 800 cd/m² on a 300 cd/m² sky, but your TV can only display a max brightness of 300 cd/m², the final image will have to be tone down and you will lose the visual effect that was intended.

There are other features that play a role in displaying a good HDR effect, but those two are the one that are the most noticeable and that have the most weight in the final score and unfortunately, the KU7000 have a below average in both. If you compare with the Samsung KS8000, you will see that it got a very good score in both of those test.

Update 08/18/2016: New color gamut measurements have shown that the KU7000 does support a wide color gamut, which does improve the HDR experience. However it is still lacking bright highlights and the better picture quality of other HDR TVs, and so has average HDR performance.

Wow, this is rated a lot lower than the previous generation. I'm looking for a 40" for a bedroom. I'll mostly be playing video games on it and sit somewhere around 5/6 feet away. I thought this would be the tv, but the review is pretty lackluster.

You have a few options. The best we have seen in this size is still the 2015 Samsung JU7500. For a much lower price though, take a look at the 40" Vizio D 4k. It is decent for watching movies and excellent for video games.

I bought the 43" a couple of weeks before the review came out and was actually quite disappointed after reading it. I'm looking hard for the flaws you mention in the review, but what I'm experiencing is great detail, very realistic color and skin tone, fairly deep blacks, and really good up-scaling. Could the smaller screen possibly look better than the 55" you reviewed or am I just easy to please and a TV viewing nube?

We found that the KU7000 performed about average in most of our tests. This is not bad, however TVs that do really well generally have additional features or performance that stands out above the rest. The main issues with the KU7000 were the lack of HDR performance (which will only be an issue for HDR content) and judder present when watching movies (although this is only noticeable to some people). Generally smaller screens do have fewer problems with uniformity, and if the field of view is smaller then the picture quality and upscaling do appear slightly better.

I got this TV a couple weeks ago and started to notice random drops in WiFi when I use the Smart Connect from my phone. Even Bluetooth gets disconnected from the TV to the speakers. Doesn't matter what you do to reset the connections, it doesn't work. The only way is to unplug the TV and plug it back in after a few seconds. Then restarting the TV will automatically recover all the connections. Have you guys noticed something similar during your review?

We did not notice this during our review of the TV. It could be that there is something in your environment that is causing some interference (electronic gear, microwave oven, bad power source, other wireless devices, etc) with your wireless signal or simply that you have a defective TV.

Would a firmware update fix the judder problems? Also what can a firmware update do anyways can it improve input lag, add new settings etc.

It is very unlikely, as last year's Samsung 60 Hz TVs behave that way also. Generally, firmware updates are for stability fixes (like crashes or rebooting). Improving input lag or adding new settings is possible, but this rarely happens.

Hello,
Would you be able to clarify the following statement under the PC monitor portion of your review:
Text becomes more clear when sending a 4:4:4 signal instead of 4:2:2, however it is not as well defined as the KU6300.
Does this indicate that text on the KU7000 is not as clear as it is on the KU6300 at 4:4:4 or does it indicate that the difference between text at 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 is not as noticeable on the KU7000 as it is on the KU6300? I am interested in using either the KU7000 or KU6300 as a PC monitor and text clarity is a big factor in the decision.
Thanks for your time in maintaining this site. It is an excellent resource.

We just retested 4:4:4 at all resolutions and text always stays perfectly clear. We must have made an error when we tested it the first time. We removed the sentence you're referring to and updated the review. Thank you for pointing that out.

Since the KU6300 has a higher peak brightness than the KU7000 does that mean that the KU6300 will show the HDR highlights better than the KU7000?

That's correct, the local dimming implementation in the KU7000 reduces the brightness of highlights significantly. With local dimming disabled the whole screen stays at a similar brightness for both TVs.

Hello, I recently purchased the ku7000 55" FA01 model same as yours and was having trouble getting into the advanced calibration settings when connected to my PC.
Found any fix to get this working. Thanks

To adjust the 10 point white balance, special viewing modes (eg. 'Game Mode') must be disabled. Note that we do not recommend copying our white balance and color space settings as it varies on a unit by unit basis.

In game mode, we have the same input lag (24.7ms) with or without HDR signal. Outside game mode, we also have the same input lag (110.0ms) with or without HDR signal. We have updated the review with this new data.